245 



PYRENEES. 



PYRENEES, BASSES. 



216 



bead is usually at a ' col ' or a ' port,' and the valley extends for 

 many miles towards the north or south, bounded by lateral branches 

 of the mountains. Tiie longest valleys, as that of the Garonne, and the 

 valley of Lavedan, which is watered by the Gave-de-Pau, are near the 

 centre of the great range. Many of the valleys present a succession 

 of basins, or circular hollows, locally called ' oules," through which the 

 stream which waters the valley winds slowly, assuming a character in 

 keeping with the scenery of these secluded spots. These basins are 

 usually elevated one above the other, and they communicate by 

 narrow and deep ravines, or by a slope or descent more or less steep. 

 In the upper part of the valleys, where these basins are more frequent 

 and more perfect in their form, they often contain lakes or tarns. 

 Tunis are numerous on the French side of the mountains ; on the 

 Spanish side they are rare. Some of them are in very elevated 

 rites from 6000 to nearly 9000 feet above the sea. The most elevated 

 lake seems to be that of the Pic-du-Midi. Some of them, as the 

 Lake of Oo, are frozen for the greater part of the year. At the head 

 of some of the valleys is found an ' oule,' ' olla,' or hollow, surrounded 

 by walls of almost perpendicular rock, and forming a cirque or amphi- 

 theatre. The most famous of these circular vale-heads is the Cirque 

 of Gavarnie, celebrated for its romantic scenery. [PtRfesKEs, 

 HACTES.! 



Tlie line of perpetual congelation in the Pyrenees, according to 

 Malte-Bnin, occurs at the height of 92'19 feet on the northern slope*, 

 and 8311 feet on the southern. The climate in the neighbourhood of 

 the Pyrenees varies considerably. It is warmer at the extremities, 

 because of the inferior height of the mountains and the proximity 

 of the sea ; this is especially the case at the eastern extremity, where 

 the olive grows luxuriantly. The winters are short, and in the lower 

 valleys snow rarely lies more than a day or two. In the upper valleys 

 the climate is more rigorous. The lower slopes are in many parts 

 covered with forests of oak and beech ; the pine, the fir, the box, the 

 rhododendron, the Alpine rose, the dwarf willow, and a variety of 

 other trees and shrubs grow higher up the sides. The summers are 

 very warm, and vegetation in all the valleys is very luxuriant 

 Thunder-storms are frequent. 



Many riven rise in the Pyrenees. Those on the southern side, 

 except a few near the eastern extremity, flow into the Ebro. The 

 waters of the northern dope, with the exception of the Bidassoa, 

 which Sows directly into the ocean, are carried into the Bay of 

 Biscay by the Adour, the Aricge, and the Garonne; or into the 

 Mediterranean by the Aucte, the Tech, the Tet, and the Gly. There 

 are numerous mineral springs in the neighbourhood of the Pyrenees. 

 Those of Bagncres-de-BSgcirre, Bagneres-de-Luchon, Barrf-ges, St.- 

 Sauveur, in the valley of Lavedan; Canteretz; Eaux-Bonnes, in the 

 valley of Ossan; Eanx-Chaudes, in an adjacent valley; Ax, in the 

 valley of the Ariege ; Alet, in that of the Aude ; and some others, 

 are of considerable note. 



In the higher Pyrenees! small glaciers are of frequent occurrence; 

 they are found adjacent to the loftiest peak*. Avalanches also occur, as 

 in the Alps. The glaciers of the Pyrenees are found on the slopes of 

 the loftier mountain*, not occupying deep gorges or valleys, as in the 

 Alps ; neither are they as in the latter mountains contiguous, bnt 

 separated frequently by considerable intervals. They are frequently 

 traversed by deep fractures or chasm*. Glaciers are found only 

 between tbe valleys of Arran and Ossan, and for the most part on the 

 northern slope of the mountains. 



The recesses of the Pyrenees are the haunts of the izard, a variety 

 of the chamois, of smaller size and brighter colour. The bear and 

 the wolf are also found. The slopes of the mountain* affurd pasturage 

 in summer to numerous flocks, which are driven thither from the 

 plains or lower slopes whore they pass the winter. Medicinal plants 

 abound. The mountaineers are a fine intelligent race of men. An 

 unhappy and despised race of men, commonly bnt falsely said to be 

 disfigured by goitre, are found in the western Pyrenees, where they 

 are called Cagots. They were formerly held in the utmost abhorrence 

 and kept in a state of the greatest degradation : in the churches they 

 had a distinct place which they reached, not by the same entrance as 

 other Christians, but by a side-door made purposely for them. The 

 condition of the Cagots ha* been ameliorated by advancing civilisation, 

 and they are now nearly absorbed by intermarriage with the mass of 

 the population. Goitre and cretinism are not unfrequent in the 

 Pyrenean valleys, but they have never been confined to the Cagots 

 alone. The prevailing opinion is that the Cagots are descended from 

 a tribe of Saracens. 



Although hot-springs exist In most of the valleys of the Pyrenees 

 yet there is no appearance of volcanic action in the structure of tbe 

 mountain*, the mass of which Is composed of primitive, transition, 

 and secondary formations. The primitive rocks, which form the least 

 part of the mass, comprise granite and gneiss ; these rocks in the 

 eastern part of the Pyrenees are found on tho north slope considerably 

 below the crest of the chain, but towards the west they form the 

 rat itself and part of the southern slope. Towards the middle of 

 the radge micaceous schist is found and primitive limestone extends 

 between the Garonne and the Ariege. Sienite, porphyry, serpentine, 

 and trap are occasionally met with among the varieties of the primi- 

 tive formation*. The transition rocks, which form the larger part of 

 these mountains, are clay -slate and grauwacke-slate, which extend in two 



beds from one end of the chain to the other, resting in a very inclined 

 position upon the primitive formations. Bands of red-sandstone and 

 alpine limestone occur along the chain chiefly on the southern slope, 

 and also nearly uninterruptedly on the northern slope, but not in such 

 great masses. Ophite is found, not in strata, but in isolated musses, 

 generally at the entrance of the valleys. The Pyrenees are rich in 

 iron-ore; copper also, lead, and silver exist in the mountains that 

 flank the valley of Baigorry ; some gold is washed down by the Salat, 

 the Ariege, and the Garonne. Fine statuary and beautiful coloured 

 marble are quarried. 



The most important, because most practicable, passes of the Pyrenees 

 are, proceeding from east to west, the Col-de-Pertus commanded by 

 the fortress of Bellegarde, through which runs the road from Perpignan 

 to Barcelona, practicable at all seasons, and for vehicles of every kind ; 

 the Col-de-la-Perche, commanded by the fortress of Mont-Louis, com- 

 municating between French and Spanish Cerdagne : the Port-de-Salo, 

 through which runs the road from Toulouse and St.-Girons to Lerida : 

 the Port-de-Viella, by which communication is kept up between the 

 valley of Arran and the rest of Spain : the Port-de-Canfranc, through 

 which runs the road from Ole'rou by the valley of Aspe to Jaca : the 

 Port of Orissou and the Port of Roncevaux, or Roncesvalles, through 

 which runs the road from St.-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Moureal : and the 

 Port-de-Maya, communicating between Bayonne and I'ampeluna. The 

 main road from Paris, Bordeaux, and Bayonne to Madrid crosses the 

 Bidassoa near the sea, at the western extremity of the chain. It was 

 by the Pass of Pertus that the armies of Hannibal and Julius Ciiesar 

 crossed the Pyrenees. Charlemagne advanced into Spain, A.D. 778, by 

 the pass of Roncesvalles, where his rear-guard suffered great loss from 

 the hardy mountaineers. Among tho slain was the renowned Roland, 

 whose name, still lives in the traditions of the country, besides being 

 given to the famous Brdche-de-Roland, the highest pass of the 

 Pyrenees (about 9000 feet), which he is said to have formed by a blow 

 of his sword. There are above 50 passes in the Pyrenees, but except 

 those mentioned (not including the Breche-de-Roland) few are 

 traversed unless it be by smugglers or adventurous tourists. 



PYRENEES, BASSES, a department in the south-west of France, 

 lies between 42 47' and 43 So' N. lat., 2' E. and 1 45' \V. long., 

 and is bounded N. by the departments of Landes and Gers, E. by that 

 of Hautes-Pyre'nees, 8. by tbe Pyrenees and Spain, and W. by the 

 Hay of Biscay. Its greatest length from east to west is 88 miles ; the 

 breadth varies from 13 to 55 miles. The area is 2943'3 square miles. 

 The population in 1841 was 451,683; in 1851 it amounted to 446,997, 

 which gives 151-869 to the square mile, being 22715 below the average 

 per square mile for the whole of France. 



The department is formed out of the old principality of BBAUM, 

 Basse-Navarre, the Basque districts of Soule and Labour [BASQUES, 

 PATS DM], and a portion of Chalosse. It takes its name from its 

 position on the slopes and at the foot of the Western Pyrenees, which 

 send out numerous offshoots to the north-west, dividing the surface of 

 the department into a great number of valleys, each watered by a 

 clear rapid stream that ultimately falls into the ADOUR on the northern 

 boundary. From the Basque word for running water these mountain 

 rivers are called ' gaves." The principal of them are the Gave-de-Pau, 

 which drains the north east, and the Gave-d'Oloron (formed by the 

 gaves that drain the valleys of Aspe and Ossau), which runs through 

 the central districts. More to westward arc tbe Bidouze and the 

 Nive (this enters the Adour at Bayonne), the Nivelle, wbich rises in 

 Spain and enters the Gulf of Gascogne at St.-Jean-de-Luz, and the 

 Bidassoa, which marks the boundary between France and Spain for a 

 short distance before its entrance into the Bay of Biscay below Fuente- 

 rabia. Timber and other articles are floated down all theso rivers 

 almost from their sources ; such of them as fall directly into the sea 

 have a tide navigation a few miles from their mouths. 



The lower valleys of the department, the principal of which are 

 those of Baigorry, Soule, Aspe, and Ossau, ore fertile. The vale-heads 

 in many instances have the form of on amphitheatre (locally called 

 ' oule ' from the Spanish ' olla,' pot), inclosed by high mountains, and 

 connected with the valleys by narrow gorges; some of them also 

 present beautiful cascades. The high valleys and lower slopes of the 

 Pyrenees afford excellent pasture, on which great numbers of cattle, 

 swine, sheep, mules, and light Navnrrese horses are fed. The hill-sides 

 are in general covered with vineyards, which yield very good wine, 

 and with plantations of fruit and chestnut-trees. Tho annual produce 

 of wine is about 7,150,000 gallons, the best kinds being those of 

 Jiiram-on and Gan. The high mountains are to a great extent covered 

 with forests of pine, fir, and oak, which afford good ship timber. 

 Along the Adour there is some marsh land, and in the north-west, and 

 near the sea, there are some naked barren wastes. Of wheat the 

 produce is not enough for the consumption; other crops are rye, 

 barley, oats, millet, chestnuts, and maize, which last forms the prin- 

 cipal article of food of the peasantry. The growing of flax and hemp, 

 Hie trade in hams chiefly carried on in I'tiu and Bayonne, and the 

 traffic in nitdca and cattle with Spain, are the most important sources 

 of wealth to the agriculturist. 



The Pyrenees consist of primitive rocka (especially granite mingled 

 with gneiss), which occupy however but a small space in this depart- 

 ment. The transition rocks (grauwacke, grauwncke-slate, day-slate, 

 and transition limestone) form the principal component of tho 



